Common practice goals year over is year is increasing patient growth and practice profits. There are lots of ways that both of these things can be done, but we’re going to take a look at a couple of benchmarks you can monitor to ensure you are reaching these goals, and a couple of tips for improving them if your numbers aren’t falling where you’d like them to be.
Goal #1: Increase New Patient Growth
The Formula: New Patient Growth = (# of patients this year - # of patients from previous year) / # of patients from previous year) x 100
This is a good benchmark to measure year over year, but you could also do it as often as every quarter or month. Measuring over shorter time periods could help you determine which marketing efforts might be contributing more to your growth. The industry average is about 8 percent to 10 percent growth per year. If you aren’t meeting this benchmark, or your numbers are slowing down over time, here are few ideas for generating new patient business in your practice:
- Sponsorship and community involvement.
- Start a blog.
- Refresh your website and implement SEO best practices.
- Spend some money on social media advertising.
- Implement a customer referral program.
- Utilize patient recall.
Goal #2: Increase Optical Capture Rate
The Formula: Optical Capture Rate = (# of patients who filled their prescription / # of patients who were given a prescription) x 100
Frame and contact lens sales are a big source of revenue for many practices, making this an important benchmark to stay on top of monthly. The industry benchmark is right around 60 percent of patients filling their prescription in the practice.
With cheaper online options these days it’s easy for your practice to become a frame showroom. Don’t let this happen. Use these dos and don’ts to keep your optical capture rate up.
- Do thoroughly explain prescriptions to patients.
- Don’t assume contact lens wearers or patients without a new prescription aren’t interested in new frames.
- Do feature promotions through email or your website.
- Don’t overprice your frames.
- Do keep your inventory unique.
- Don’t assume a patient can’t afford certain products.
These are two important benchmarks to be looking at regularly in your practice, but there are plenty of other benchmarks that are equally important. Download the eBook, 8 Benchmarks ODs Need to Monitor, to see how your practice is performing.